from a nonconstantian and postmodern perspective

Long on Memory, Short on Grace

Adrian Huff won a seat on the Bellmead City Council in last Saturday’s election. He will not be able to serve.

You see, 32 years ago, Mr. Huff was convicted of stealing a car. In Texas, someone with a felony on his or her record cannot hold elected office.

Neither article I read reports Mr. Huff’s age, but I’m guessing that 32 years ago he was a very young man. It is not at all unusual for young people to do pretty stupid things.

While I committed no felonies 30 years ago -which was my senior year of high school, I did things I regret. I can thing of some things well into my 20s that, had I to do it over again, I’d like to thin kI would have chosen differently.

But I didn’t. Fortunately for a lot of us over 40, we didn’t have facebook, myspace, and the like to record our immaturity for a world to see. Once done, it was, in fact done.

Mr. Huff’s wasn’t done; but he paid the debt he owed society. And apparently, has been a good citizen for the 32 years since. I think Adrian Huff ought to be allowed to serve. Or, at least, ought not be disallowed based on something he did 32 years ago.

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One thought on “Long on Memory, Short on Grace”

While not wanting to seem like I’m NOT a fan of grace, I don’t think that civil government is really supposed to be in the grace business. Civil government is in the business of creating black-and-white rules that can be applied across the board. If we (as a society with a secular government, not being a theocracy) get into the business of making judgments about who is reformed, and how long is long enough since the felony conviction, then we will run into problems with discrimination. Once those kind of judgments are allowed to be considered, there is no way that they will be applied evenly to everyone … people being people.

Yeah, it sucks that you do one stupid thing when you are immature, and it follows you the rest of your life. But that is life. It is what happens no matter who you are and what you did. “Some people’s sins trail after them …” or whatever that quote is. That is why we as parents keep beating our heads against that particular brick wall of our kids’ immaturity … as a parent of a son who is paying child support for the next 18 years because he got himself embroiled in a situation he was not ready for, my heart breaks for the adult kids — and for their own offspring — who are paying the price for their juvenile misbehavior. It sucks. But it sucks across the board … I think it would be wrong to pick and choose (according to our own fallible judgment) who has reformed “enough” and for whom time lapsed has been “long enough.”